Job Description

Friends of Ruby

Friends of Ruby was founded by Egale Canada in 2014 to meet the needs of LGBTQI2S youth.  It is currently an independent charity that provides comprehensive and progressive mental health and well-being supports to LGBTQI2S youth, aged 16-29 through mental health services, social services, and housing.

Friends of Ruby operates a Youth Centre and the Friends of Ruby Home. The Centre provides access to barrier free counselling and therapeutic groups, case management and a drop-in space with hot meals, community, and a comprehensive programming. The Home provides transitional and emergency housing, as well as mental health and wellness support services to support youth moving towards independent living.

To date, the organization has supported more than 1000 youth and prevented 500 mental health crises and visits to hospital emergency rooms, saving nearly $300,000 in health care costs.

Friends of Ruby recognizes that a diverse work force is critical to accomplishing our mission. Our goal is to attract, develop, and retain highly talented employees from diverse backgrounds allowing us to benefit from a wide variety of experiences and perspectives.

We strongly encourage applications from the LGBTQI2S and BIPOC communities, and diverse backgrounds that meet the requirements of the job posting. We suggest applicants introduce themselves, their stories and lived experiences in their cover letter to their level of comfort.

Position Summary 

Under the direction of the Director of Strategic Initiatives, the Housing Advisor will provide expert insight and advice on social housing strategies and LGBTQI2S youth needs, identify opportunities and gaps that can be addressed through new program and services, and maintain key relationships within the sector to advance Friends of Ruby strategic goals.

The position plays an integral role in connecting with the Social Housing Sector, gaining insights through active participation and research, and reporting to the leadership team to support effective decision making in connection with Friends of Ruby’s strategic goals. It also plays an essential role in developing evidence-based solutions to enhance housing processes and to meet trends, opportunities, gaps and youth needs.

Duties and Responsibilities

Structure and manages all efforts in gaining expert insight into social housing trends and LGBTQI2S youth needs, establishing key relationships and participating in meaningful sectorial discussions to report on strategic opportunities and provide advice to leadership and to develop solutions through processes enhancement, and new programs and services.

Social Housing Analysis & Strategy

• Gain expert insight into social housing strategies and trends and LGBTQI2S youth needs from existing approaches, research, best-practices, consultations with stakeholders, participation in relevant tables and networks, and others.
• Write regular and user-friendly summaries, briefings, reports, presentations to present the leadership team and the Board with insights to support strategic decision making.
• Analyze opportunities and identify gaps in existing housing processes, programs and services for Friends of Ruby and propose improvement or new solutions, developing Friends of Ruby’s Housing framework for LGBTQI2S youth.
• Develop integrated housing programs and services in collaboration with Youth Services & Housing, writing comprehensive charters that incorporate gained insights and evidence, high quality and innovative solutions to address opportunities and gaps, and a clear understanding of resources needed.
• Support fund and resource acquisition by collaborating with Fund Development in the writing of proposals to support new and existing housing programs and services.
• Support the evaluation of existing housing programs and services to identify and advise on strengths and opportunities for replication and knowledge sharing, as well as gaps and opportunities for improvement.

Housing Sector Engagement & Mobilization

• Maintain a close relationship with the City of Toronto and the Province of Ontario to gather early insights into trends and changes in housing standards, requirements, systems, policies and other sectorial activities.
• Identify and engage with key stakeholders in the Social Housing Sector and maintain constant and collaborative relationships to facilitate the development of partnerships for programs and services.
• Lead discussions with key stakeholders in the Social Housing Sector
• Structure, implement and manage consultations and other forms of stakeholder engagement to inform the development of programs and services.
• Engage with leadership and team members to identify Friends of Ruby’s expertise and best practices in housing support to LGBTQI2S youth, and structure ways in which to share these with relevant stakeholders (e.g., community organizations, networks, government agencies)
• Other duties as assigned by the Director of Strategic Initiatives.

We’re Passionate About Finding Someone Who…

• Has extensive knowledge and demonstrated experience within the social housing sector, including ties in the sector and a strong understanding of existing standards (e.g., Toronto Shelter Standards) and trends (e.g., Housing First Approach) and its applicability to LGBTQI2S youth.
• Is an expert in the development and implementation of critical programs and services needed to support youth experiencing homelessness and its associated challenges.
• Is self-motivated, hands-on and take initiative to make change happen.
• Has a strategic mind and ability to connect and communicate information and steer relationships to help achieve organizational goals.
• Is skilled at compiling, processing, summarizing, and communicating (in a user-friendly manner) a high volume of complex and diverse information to leadership.
• Is a high performer that thrives in a fast pace environment and growing organization and can quickly adapt when needed.
• Is excited by the prospect of and skilled at collaborating and harnessing the knowledge from different internal & external stakeholders (e.g., staff, community organizations and youth).
• Has worked within the LGBTQI2S youth sector and/or demonstrates diversity and cultural competence, including an understanding of and/or lived experience of the challenges faced by LGBTQI2S youth, especially those who are black, indigenous and from other racialized communities.
• Brings an understanding of anti-racist and anti-oppression frameworks; the function of power structures in directly disadvantaging marginalized populations; the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, gender identity, class, sexual orientation, and ability; providing care through an equity lens.

Key Competencies

• 5-7 years of demonstrated experience in Social Housing and evidence-based program development in the not-for-profit sector.
• Educational background in Non-Profit Management, Public Health/Administration, Social Sciences, Research, Community Development is an asset.
• Professional and/or personal experience within the LGBTQI2S youth well-being sector is desirable.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including proven ability to communicate with different audiences and to synthesize and interpret complex data for the purposes of producing reports and other materials.
• Strong multi-tasking, organization and time-management skills to prioritize activities and meet deadlines.

Additional requirements

• Satisfactory clearance under the Vulnerable Sector Police Check Program
• Must be qualified to legally work in Canada
• Ability to both work from home and at our offices located in Downtown Toronto
• Ability to travel to other community-based settings as needed

Statement on Employment Equity and Diversity 

We are committed to ensuring that members of traditionally marginalized groups, from a broad range of communities, feel empowered to apply for positions within the organization. We encourage qualified applicants to consider work and volunteer opportunities with Friends of Ruby as we recognize that a diverse work force and volunteer base are critical to accomplishing our mission. The organization is dedicated to taking proactive steps to overcome historical patterns of discrimination in our society which have created barriers of race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, language, class, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression for some individuals and have resulted in the denial of their full participation in society.

Your application 

Interested and qualified candidates are invited to submit their resume and cover letter. We thank all candidates for their interest. We regret that only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process. If you require an accommodation (including alternate format materials, accessible meeting rooms or other accommodation), please let us know and we will work with you to meet your needs.

How to Apply

Job Types: Full-Time.

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